Corvinus Gaunt
|species = Human |gender = Male |family = *Salazar Slytherin (ancestor) † *Gormlaith Gaunt (relative) † *Rionach Sayre (relative) † *Marvolo Gaunt (descendant) † *Morfin Gaunt (descendant) † *Cadmus Peverell (ancestor) *Merope Gaunt (descendant) † *Tom Riddle (descendant) † *Delphini (descendant) |house = Slytherin |loyalty = *Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry **Slytherin *House of Gaunt *Slytherin family |theme = slytherin |hideb = |hidep = |hidef = |hidem = m |hidea = }}Corvinus Gaunt (fl. 18th century) was a pure-blood wizard, and a member of the pure-blood House of Gaunt. As such, he was one of the direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin and was a Parselmouth, as well as being presumably very inbred and rich (assuming their wealth has yet to be completely squandered from grandeur and lack of sense). Gaunt knew about the Chamber of Secrets, and he was instrumental in keeping the entrance to the Chamber a secret. Biography In the 1700s, there was a proposal to install an elaborate plumbing system at Hogwarts Castle. This, of course, threatened the secrecy around the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets which, at the time, still had its original appearance — a concealed trapdoor and a series of magical tunnels — and which was located on the site where a girls' bathroom would be set up. Corvinus Gaunt was, at the time, a student at Hogwarts and, as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, knew where the entrance to the Chamber was and how to open it. Corvinus was responsible for secretly protecting the entrance, having concealed it behind plumbing fixtures and a sink (which today are part of Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom), so that those who knew how could still access the Chamber. Personality and Traits Corvinus appeared to be sufficiently intelligent, as he was able to learn the location of the Chamber of Secrets that has not been found by centuries of searching. He was also able to adapt the new plumbing system into hiding the Chamber from the school staff in a discreet manner. Likewise, he seemed to be mentally stable despite inbreeding (at least the early stages of the practise not enough to damage Corvinus' genes), enough to attend Hogwarts that his later descendants within the 20th century did not. His willingness to hide the Chamber that was meant to drive off all Muggle-borns from Hogwarts indicate his belief in pure-blood supremacy. Despite this he never sought to open the Chamber himself suggesting that, while ill-intentioned, he was unwilling to be the one responsible for the deaths of all the Muggle-borns. Magical abilities and skills *'Parseltongue': Being a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, Corvinus was a natural born Parselmouth, being able to magically communicate with snakes along with most of his ancestors and relatives. He was able to use his ability to speak Parseltongue allowed him to cleverly conceal the opening to the Chamber of Secrets and would have even allowed him to open it himself, the latter of which he never actually did. Etymology *"Corvinus" is the diminutive of "Corvus", which derives from Latin corvus, "raven". was a 15th-century Hungarian king, possibly referring to Corvinus' status as a pure-blood, as many pure-bloods consider themselves akin to royalty. Also, was a Roman general, author and patron of literature and art. *The word gaunt is defined as "haggard, drawn and emaciated" and "bleak, desolate". Behind the scenes *As a member of the House of Gaunt, Corvinus presumably owned Salazar Slytherin's Locket, and possibly owned Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, assuming the latter had passed into the family's possession by this time. Appearances * Notes and references ru:Корвин Мракс de:Corvinus Gaunt fr:Corvinus Gaunt pl:Corvinus Gaunt Category:British individuals Corvinus Category:Males Category:Parselmouths Category:Pure-blood supremacists Category:Pure-bloods Category:Slytherins Category:Wizards